Will Dunham

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – Although it was completed years later than expected and at a much higher cost, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, due to launch next week, may herald a new era of astronomy. It will gather information about the early stages of star formation in the universe, as well as whether other planets may have potential for life.

An Ariane 5 rocket will lift off from French Guiana (on South America’s northeastern coastline) on Dec. 22 to launch the orbiting, infrared observatory.

Klaus Pontoppidan is an astronomer and a Webb scientist at the Space Telescope Science Institute. He said, “We’re going on this incredible journey of discovery.” Webb’s raw power allows for unexpected discoveries. It’s possible to plan the things we want to see. We know at the end that nature is more likely to surprise us than we think.

This telescope features four scientific instruments and is part of an international collaboration between NASA, Canada, and the European Space Agency. Northrop Grumman Corp (NYSE 🙂 is primary contractor. This vehicle will be used to launch the European contribution.

It cost $8.8billion to develop, with operating costs expected to increase its price to $9.66billion. According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, it has almost doubled in price since NASA set a cost baseline for 2009 following earlier overruns. NASA had intended to launch it in 2011, however, the launch date has been repeatedly postponed.

The telescope will be used by scientists to study all stages of the universe’s history, starting with the Big Bang 13.8 billion year ago. They also plan to examine exoplanets (planets outside our solar system) and worlds nearer home like Saturn’s moon Titan and our planet neighbor Mars.

Webb will focus its attention on the universe’s infrared wavelengths, while Hubble studies it at ultraviolet and optical wavelengths. Webb is able to look further back than Hubble because it has more light-collecting areas.

Webb’s Washington Headquarters program director Greg Robinson said, “We look forward to this, and we are getting very, very near,”

After a 16-day journey by sea from California, the telescope reached French Guiana on October 16. It had traveled through the Panama Canal and Port de Pariacabo (on the Kourou River). The telescope will be deployed on its long journey of 1.6 million kilometers (million miles) to orbits farther away than Hubble.

“We are going to see everything in the universe we can. What is the story behind how we got from the Big Bang? We’ll have a closer look,” John Mather said, Webb senior scientist and project scientist, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, Maryland.

Its missions include the search for first galaxies (luminous objects created after the Big Bang) and understanding how galaxies have evolved from their birth to today.

Mather stated, “We want the first galaxies to grow.”

Also, the goals are to observe the formation and evolution of the stars and planets that surround them. Mather stated that Webb could see through the cloud of dust and gas where stars are formed. It was impossible to see the stars until now because of the cloudy dust.

The Webb telescope will be able to see the infrared light around dust grains, instead of bounce off. Mather stated that this is Mather’s top goal – to observe how young stars develop with their planets.

The atmospheres of exoplanets can be analyzed using a tool called the spectrometer. Mather stated that finding one with lots water, which is thought to be the most important ingredient for life, would be very interesting. Mather stated, “A wet little planet might look a bit like home.”